Occupation statute
Encyclopedia
The Occupation Statute of Germany of April 10, 1949 specified the roles and responsibilities of the newly created German government and the Allied High Commission
in West Germany
. It was drawn up by American
, British
, and French
representatives and was in rule until the Treaties of Paris (1954) came into power on May 5, 1955.
The statute's authors were United States Secretary of State
Dean Acheson
, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Ernest Bevin
, and the French Prime Minister
Robert Schuman
, who deliberated for eight days in intensive conferences in Washington, DC. It gave Germany conditional sovereignty
and admitted it into the Marshall Plan
organization as an equal partner. The Allies retained the right to keep occupational forces in the country and complete control over disarmament
, demilitarization, related fields of scientific research, war reparations
, the Ruhr
, decartelization, displaced persons and refugees, protection, prestige and security of the occupying forces, foreign affairs, and foreign trade and exchange.
The Allies' representatives asked the Parliamentary council
drafting a constitution to accept the statute. Although it met resistance from the SPD
, the council accepted the Occupation Statute.
Allied High Commission
The Allied High Commission was established by the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and France after the 1948 breakdown of the Allied Control Council to regulate and supervise the development of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany The Allied High Commission (also known...
in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. It was drawn up by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
representatives and was in rule until the Treaties of Paris (1954) came into power on May 5, 1955.
The statute's authors were United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Dean Acheson
Dean Acheson
Dean Gooderham Acheson was an American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War...
, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...
Ernest Bevin
Ernest Bevin
Ernest Bevin was a British trade union leader and Labour politician. He served as general secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1945, as Minister of Labour in the war-time coalition government, and as Foreign Secretary in the post-war Labour Government.-Early...
, and the French Prime Minister
Prime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
Robert Schuman
Robert Schuman
Robert Schuman was a noted Luxembourgish-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat and an independent political thinker and activist...
, who deliberated for eight days in intensive conferences in Washington, DC. It gave Germany conditional sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
and admitted it into the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
organization as an equal partner. The Allies retained the right to keep occupational forces in the country and complete control over disarmament
Disarmament
Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear arms...
, demilitarization, related fields of scientific research, war reparations
War reparations
War reparations are payments intended to cover damage or injury during a war. Generally, the term war reparations refers to money or goods changing hands, rather than such property transfers as the annexation of land.- History :...
, the Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
, decartelization, displaced persons and refugees, protection, prestige and security of the occupying forces, foreign affairs, and foreign trade and exchange.
The Allies' representatives asked the Parliamentary council
Parlamentarischer Rat
The Parlamentarischer Rat was the West German constitutional convention that created the current constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany...
drafting a constitution to accept the statute. Although it met resistance from the SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
, the council accepted the Occupation Statute.
See also
- Allied Control CouncilAllied Control CouncilThe Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in the German language as the Alliierter Kontrollrat and also referred to as the Four Powers , was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in Europe...
, the Declaration Regarding the Defeat of Germany and the Allied Occupation Zones in GermanyAllied Occupation Zones in GermanyThe Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
. - Petersberg Protocol of November 1949. Signed between the three Allies and Konrad AdenauerKonrad AdenauerKonrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
, the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.